Looking Back, Facing Forward
by Shining Friendship
Summary: [Post XMFC] Words can trigger a memory, stop you in your tracks, and make allies question your loyalty towards them. Raven didn't know just how much until Erik questioned her about Charles. (Erik/Raven/Charles)


**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

 **A/N:** This oneshot was inspired by A Fine Frenzy's "Near to You." Due to the site's songfic ban, however, I can't add the lyrics to my story. If you don't support the Charles/Raven relationship as a romantic pairing, beware! For those that do, enjoy and thanks for reading! :)

* * *

 **Interviewer:** Is there a favorite scene between the two of you in the films? Or a favorite scene that you've done in the X-Men films?

 **James & Jennifer:** Cuddles.

 **James:** We were talking about cuddles in the first movie. We used to cuddle a lot.

 **Jennifer:** When he read to me, we cuddled.

 **James:** [ _leans toward Jen_ ] We were close and snuggling each other. We were like, "Hey, we're brothers and sisters that get on!" Now it's just like, "Yo, hey! You wanna come back, and move in the house, and tow the line?"

 **Jennifer:** It's cold now, and we miss the cuddling.

 **James:** Yeah.

* * *

The moment was perfect. Raven was laying in bed, naked as the day she was born, running her fingers through Erik's messy hair. His head was on her chest, enjoying the soft hairplay after hours of intense, passionate lovemaking. The shapeshifter couldn't help but smile when she felt his lips plant butterfly kisses along her smooth, flat stomach.

"Stunning..." he whispered against her scaly skin at one point. "Absolutely stunning..."

As if she was struck by a bolt of lightning, Raven's heart skipped several beats. She stopped raking her fingers through his hair long enough to let out a small gasp and recall the memory that made her blood run ice cold.

* * *

 _"Would you date me?"_

 _"Of course I would," Charles replied absently in the living room of their small flat, focused on the current draft of his thesis. "Any young man would be lucky to have you. You're stunning."_

 _"Looking like this?"_

 _"What?" he wondered, lifting his head up from his schoolwork and noticing that she was no longer in her human disguise. "Blue?"_

 _From the disappointed expression on her face, the handsome intellectual knew his answer was a poor one, so he tried to soften the blow. "You're my oldest friend."_

 _"I'm your only friend," she shot back dryly._

 _Charles scoffed and smiled at her. "Thank you for that."_

* * *

"What is it?" Erik snapped the redhead out of her private thoughts. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Raven breathed out evenly, attempting to look calm against her mixed emotions.

He studied her, not falling for the act. "Don't lie to me. I know you better than that."

"It's Charles," she admitted after a moment of silence. "What you said before... It reminded me of him. He told me that I was stunning before we left Oxford for the States."

"I see," Erik grumbled before shifting to his side and slipping out of her bed in nothing but a pair of black boxers.

The air in the room turned from pleasurable contentment to awkwardly strained. Raven wished she hadn't mentioned Charles, but it was already too late. The words couldn't be taken back or erased. All she could do now was diffuse the situation and hope they could pick up where they left off.

"It doesn't mean anything."

"Obviously, it does mean something if the word made you think of him."

"Charles was my best friend, the only other mutant I knew for years. We have a lot of history together."

"Maybe too much."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He turned, eyeing her sharply. "I think you know exactly what it means."

"I'm not going to apologize for being his friend, Erik."

"I wasn't asking you to. I would never ask you to apologize for knowing Charles. He was my friend as well."

"Then what do you want from me?"

"This isn't about what I want. This is about what you want. Are you sure this is where you want to be?"

"Of course," Raven replied without a hint of hesitation in her voice. "I made my choice. I chose you."

"I also know what you gave up. I know how much Charles means to you."

"No, you don't."

"Fine," he sighed, choosing not to argue the point with her. "But I know it couldn't have been easy."

"It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Charles was everything to me once. My family, my best friend, my home."

"I'm sure he feels the same way about you."

"He treated me like a child," she rebuffed, doing her best to maintain her cool. "You see my potential and accept me for what I am."

"I always will, but my loyalty isn't in question."

"You're questioning my loyalty to our cause?"

"I'm questioning your loyalty to me."

Raven tilted her head to the side, flabbergasted by the accusation. "Are you jealous of Charles?"

"Should I be?"

The shapeshifter tossed the sheets aside, rose from her bed, and walked towards him, confident and strong, fire blazing in her yellow eyes. She made her choice that day on the beach. Charles was her past; Magneto and the Brotherhood were her future.

"I'm not his Raven anymore. My name is Mystique."

Satisfied with her response, Erik smirked and kissed his lover.

* * *

 **A/N:** What do you think? Please review!


End file.
